Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Tracing Techniques In The Rat Spinal Cord Using A Custom Matlab Application., Rachel M. Zalla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research project is to evaluate the efficiency of traditional chemical tracing compared to dual-viral tracing for labeling long ascending propriospinal neurons (LAPNs) in the uninjured rat spinal cord, and to develop a MATLAB program which will accurately quantify this labeling.

To evaluate chemical tracing, Fluoro-Ruby (FR) was injected at the level of the axon terminals, and the number of ipsilateral labeled cell bodies at lumbar level was quantified. Similarly, two dual-viral systems were evaluated, by either injecting retro-AAV-Cre or HiRet-Lenti-Cre unilaterally in combination with a Cre-dependent adeno-associated virus. The HiRet-Lenti and FR groups labeled significantly greater …

An In Vivo Study Of The Effects Of Perinatal Caffeine Exposure On Synaptic Efficacy In The Hippocampus Of Freely Moving Adult Rats, Jee Eun Park

Senior Theses and Projects

The synapse from the perforant path to the dentate gyrus has been widely used successfully to demonstrate long-term potentiation, a cellular model underlying learning and memory. Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed psychoactive stimulants in the world. Caffeine consumption increases in alertness, improvements in motor skills, and neurological functions, and these effects have promoted its use throughout history. Although the many short term cognitive benefits of caffeine intake are well understood, the long term effects of caffeine exposure have been widely disputed. Despite this, it is estimated that over 80% of women continue to consume caffeine throughout pregnancy. …

Rat Brain Pro-Oxidant Effects Of Peripherally Administered 5 Nm Ceria 30 Days After Exposure, Sarita S. Hardas, Rukhsana Sultana, Govind Warrier, Mo Dan, Rebecca L. Florence, Peng Wu, Eric A. Grulke, Michael T. Tseng, Jason M. Unrine, Uschi M. Graham, Robert A. Yokel, D. Allan Butterfield

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to determine the residual pro-or anti-oxidant effects in rat brain 30 days after systemic administration of a 5 nm citrate-stabilized ceria dispersion. A ∼4% aqueous ceria dispersion was iv-infused (0 or 85 mg/kg) into rats which were terminated 30 days later. Ceria concentration, localization, and chemical speciation in the brain was assessed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), light and electron microscopy (EM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), respectively. Pro- or anti-oxidant effects were evaluated by measuring levels of protein carbonyls (PC), 3-nitrotyrosine (3NT), and protein-bound-4-hydroxy-2-trans-nonenal (HNE) in the hippocampus, cortex, and …

Quantification Of Collagen Organization Using Fractal Dimensions And Fourier Transforms, Kayt E. Frisch, Sarah E. Duenwald-Kuehl, Hirohito Kobayashi, Connie S. Chamberlain, Roderic S. Lakes, Ray Vanderby Jr.

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Collagen fibers and fibrils that comprise tendons and ligaments are disrupted or damaged during injury. Fibrillogenesis during healing produces a matrix that is initially quite disorganized, but remodels over time to resemble, but not replicate, the original roughly parallel microstructure. Quantification of these changes is traditionally a laborious and subjective task. In this work we applied two automated techniques, fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and fractal dimension analysis (FA) to quantify the organization of collagen fibers or fibrils. Using multi-photon images of collagen fibers obtained from rat ligament we showed that for healing ligaments, FA differentiates more clearly between the different …

The Influence Of Macrophage Depletion On Ligament Healing, Connie S. Chamberlain, Ellen M. Leiferman, Kayt E. Frisch, Sijian Wang, Xipei Yang, Nico Van Rooijen, Geoff S. Baer, Stacey L. Brickson, Ray Vanderby

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Despite a complex cascade of cellular events to reconstruct damaged extracellular matrix (ECM), ligament healing results in a mechanically inferior, scar-like tissue. During normal healing, the number of macrophages significantly increases within the wound site. Then, granulation tissue expands into any residual, normal ligamentous tissue (creeping substitution), resulting in a larger region of healing, greater mechanical compromise, and an inefficient repair process. To study the effects of macrophages on the repair process, bilateral, surgical rupture of their medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) was done on rats. Treatment animals received liposome-encapsulated clodronate, 2 days before rupture to ablate phagocytosing macrophages. Ligaments were …